genome

When Ye Fan woke up, he found himself lying on the bed in his room. Struggling to sit up, he realized his entire body felt weak, as if he had just recovered from a serious illness. Just then, the door creaked open, and Sean peeked his head in.

"You're awake. Here, drink this," Sean said, extending a small crystal vial toward Ye Fan. The vial was slender, about the width of a human finger and three centimeters long—small and delicately crafted.

"Life Elixir!" Ye Fan exclaimed softly, recognizing the vibrant green liquid inside, which gleamed like emerald.

"Yes, it's a Life Elixir, but only a basic Grade A version," Sean nodded, not surprised by Ye Fan's reaction. Life Elixirs aren't synthetically made; they're extracted from ancient plants. However, these plants aren't ordinary—they absorb Source Energy and possess extraordinary life-giving properties.

The origins of the Life Elixir explain its remarkable potency. The most powerful Life Elixir known to humanity is classified as Grade S, often referred to as the "Elixir of Immortality." As long as someone still has a breath of life, drinking it can restore their vitality in a very short time.

Of course, the price of a Grade S Life Elixir is astronomical. Stark Industries, the largest genetic pharmaceutical company in the Aedis Federation, periodically auctions off a limited supply of Grade S Life Elixirs. Ye Fan remembered clearly that the last auction saw each vial sold for a staggering ten billion star credits.

While a Grade A Life Elixir pales in comparison to the Grade S version, that doesn't mean it's ineffective—it's just that the Grade S elixir is extraordinarily powerful. The difference in potency naturally reflects in their price, and even so, a single vial of Grade A Life Elixir still fetches around five thousand star credits on the market.

"Go ahead and drink it. Blood boiling isn't something you can recover from easily. Without this Life Elixir, you'd probably be bedridden for at least half a month," Sean urged when he saw Ye Fan hesitating.

Hearing this, Ye Fan didn't hesitate any longer. Considering that his monthly wage for this job was likely around ten thousand star credits, getting a Life Elixir for free was an opportunity too good to pass up. The emerald-green liquid had a faint herbal fragrance, and as it entered his mouth, a surge of life energy spread throughout his body, warming him from the inside out.

"Heh, you take your time recovering. I'll check back in a bit," Sean chuckled, noticing Ye Fan's unfocused gaze and relaxed expression. He quietly slipped out of the room, knowing firsthand how the elixir worked, having recently taken one himself.

As soon as Sean left, a gleam of determination flashed in Ye Fan's eyes. He quickly jumped out of bed, locked the door, and began practicing the "Five Techniques of Fetal Respiration" on the floor.

"Bear Stance, Tiger Stance, Serpent Stance!"

These three techniques were designed to accelerate the absorption and refinement of Source Energy, and the Life Elixir was packed with immense, pure Source Energy. Practicing these techniques while under the influence of the elixir was several times more effective than usual.

After about fifteen minutes, Ye Fan finished the Serpent Stance and slowly stood up from the floor. The weakness that had plagued him earlier was completely gone, replaced by a surge of vitality coursing through his body.

"Heh, this turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Even though it was just a Grade A Life Elixir, the benefits are equivalent to several days' worth of training!" Ye Fan marveled at the changes in his body, grinning with satisfaction.

He opened the door and then sat back on the bed, pretending to rest. The effects of a Grade A Life Elixir could last for about half an hour in an ordinary person. During that time, a portion of the elixir's energy would be absorbed by the body, but a significant amount would dissipate into the air.

Using a Life Elixir on an ordinary person is, to be honest, a bit of a waste. However, Ye Fan was not just any ordinary person—he had the miraculous "Five Techniques of Fetal Respiration," which allowed him to fully absorb and utilize the elixir's effects.

Almost as if he had timed it perfectly, Sean knocked on the door and walked in fifteen minutes later. Seeing Ye Fan sitting on the bed with a faint sheen on his skin and a dazed expression, Sean chuckled and said, "Looks like we were unlucky this time, running into that beast's rampage. But getting a Life Elixir out of it wasn't a bad trade-off."

"True," Ye Fan agreed, still curious. "But what was that creature that made all that noise? It seemed pretty powerful."

"That was a Flame Breath Python, a beast with strength comparable to a peak gene warrior. I heard that Professor Billy spent half his life savings to acquire it," Sean replied, his small, round nose twitching slightly, clearly showing his unease at the mention of the creature.

"A Flame Breath Python... So it was that beast," Ye Fan thought to himself, a contemplative look in his eyes as memories of his own Flame Breath Python gene chain resurfaced.

"But enough about that. Your work assignment has already been decided," Sean said, waving his hand as if trying to dispel the intimidating image of the python from his mind. Seeing Ye Fan's tense expression, he finally revealed, "You'll be working with me on the standard gene production line."

"The standard gene line?" Ye Fan's voice held a note of excitement, though he couldn't help but feel a twinge of disappointment. His hope had been to work in the core gene laboratory, where he might have had the chance to secretly extract a natural gene for himself.

"It's a pretty good job, actually, and the benefits aren't bad either. Besides the monthly salary of ten thousand star credits, you'll also get ten hours of training time in the Source Energy Room," Sean continued, clearly satisfied with the position as he enthusiastically listed all the perks of working on the standard gene line.

The next morning, Sean arrived at Ye Fan's room early. Being a seasoned worker on the standard gene line, Sean had naturally taken on the responsibility of showing Ye Fan the ropes.

The standard gene line in Professor Billy's lab was relatively small, more like a workshop. Its output of standard gene chains was modest, producing only about a hundred chains per day. With each standard gene chain selling for an average of fifty thousand star credits, the daily revenue was around five million star credits.

To an ordinary person, that amount was astronomical, but for a gene lab that burned through money, it was just a small fraction of the overall expenses.

"This standard gene line can produce over twenty different types of standard genes. Since we're younger and less experienced, we'll be working on the most basic strength gene line," Sean explained as he pushed open a door, revealing the strength gene production line to Ye Fan.

It was a room spanning over two hundred square meters, divided into individual workstations. A quick glance showed that there were at least thirty workstations. At that moment, about a dozen workers in uniform were already inside, greeting Sean and Ye Fan with friendly smiles as they entered.

A slightly chubby middle-aged man approached them with a smile. Sean respectfully greeted him as "Teacher Zhou." The man nodded and, with a warm smile, introduced himself to Ye Fan, "I'm the supervisor of this production line. You can call me Teacher Zhou, just like Sean does. You're new here, so make the most of this opportunity and learn from Sean."

"I understand, Teacher Zhou!" Ye Fan replied respectfully, and Teacher Zhou seemed pleased with his response. After giving Sean a few more instructions, Teacher Zhou returned to his own work.

The strength gene chain was one of the earliest gene chains developed by humans. Over time, its production process had become highly refined. The strength gene chain produced in Billy's lab was one of the most basic types, containing only thirty-two gene information segments.

Each workstation was responsible for creating one of these gene segments. Once all thirty-two segments were completed, they were assembled through a specialized process to form a complete strength gene chain, which typically sold for around forty thousand star credits. On this production line, they could produce four such chains per day.

"Our job here is to handle the gene segment related to cellular enhancement. All the genetic information for these enhanced cells is stored in the lab's smart system. Our task is simply to copy these gene segments onto the carriers," Sean explained.

Sean was visibly excited, likely because it was his first time playing the role of "teacher." He explained everything to Ye Fan with great care, going over every step in detail and emphasizing all the key points. After listening, Ye Fan couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration. It was clear that Sean had put in considerable effort to master this process; otherwise, he wouldn't have such a deep understanding of it.

But Ye Fan wasn't just anyone—before his "death," he had been the peak human warrior known as Thunder God. He possessed dozens of complex natural gene chains, so the core information of a basic strength gene chain stored in the lab's smart system was something he understood completely, let alone the simple task of operating the machinery.

At first, Ye Fan pretended to make a few mistakes, but his skill level rapidly improved, leaving Sean in stunned silence. By the middle of the day, Ye Fan had successfully produced his first complete gene information segment.

"You're a genius!" Sean exclaimed, patting Ye Fan on the shoulder after examining the segment under a high-magnification atomic microscope.

"Heh, I studied a lot about genes before; I just lacked hands-on experience," Ye Fan replied with a modest smile, though inwardly, he remained indifferent.

This was merely producing a segment of gene information, not inventing an entirely new gene sequence. If Ye Fan had needed a long time to learn this, he wouldn't have been the formidable peak human warrior he once was.

It's important to note that every peak gene warrior is also a great gene master. Creating and merging genes are their specialties. Ye Fan had previously merged dozens of natural gene chains—processes that were far more complex and dangerous than producing a simple gene segment.

"Haha, well done, Ye Fan! It looks like we're going to exceed our production quota this month, and you two will definitely get the credit!" Teacher Zhou said excitedly after receiving Sean's report, enthusiastically patting Ye Fan on the back. His eyes narrowed to slits as he beamed with satisfaction.